Andrea Vivanet: Doing Justice to Ravel

As a young person, like many young aspiring composers, I studied piano. I never took the instrument as seriously as I should have – I really only viewed it as a means to an end. Learn harmony, learn to read music, learn counterpoint, and learn to accompany – these were my goals. I have, however; always marveled at those players who did obviously take the instrument seriously, and play with a command, dedication, and talent capable of bringing out every possible nuance from the keyboard. And when I find them I just have to share it with you.

While looking around a musician message board, I stumbled across one such performer; Andrea Vivanet, a pianist living and working in Italy. Mr. Vivanet had posted a video of Ravel’s “Le Tombeau de Couperin,” a challenging, sophisticated, yet very accessible work; of course, the same could be said of the performance. Like so many Ravel pieces, the piano has an extreme orchestral quality which the performer is charged with bringing out. Andrea Vivanet meets that challenge with an ease that seems so fluid it almost makes the listener forget how difficult the piece really is.

Andrea Vivanet also has many MP3s available for free through his website and through his SoundCloud account. All are well recorded and equally well played. It will be interesting to see in the future if there is an album forthcoming, and if there is it will be posted here to remind you to buy it!

To read more about Mr. Vivanet, please visit his website at: www.andreavivanet.com